Why no Sense Good spell?

[WhiteLily]

I'm trying to understand the logic behind DFRPG not having a symmetrical spell, Sense Good, as it does have Sense Evil.

I'm considering replacing this spell in my game with "Sense Alignment" which would work as Sense Foes plus reveal any strongly aligned properties in the target area.

[Rasputin]

Originally Posted by WhiteLily

I'm trying to understand the logic behind DFRPG not having a symmetrical spell, Sense Good, as it does have Sense Evil.

• There's limited space in the books
• Few PCs are going to take it
• There's exactly one Truly Good monster in DFRPG. That's the Angel, which doesn't exactly disguise itself.

[Polkageist]

Originally Posted by WhiteLily

I'm trying to understand the logic behind DFRPG not having a symmetrical spell, Sense Good, as it does have Sense Evil.

I'm considering replacing this spell in my game with "Sense Alignment" which would work as Sense Foes plus reveal any strongly aligned properties in the target area.

Pretty much the above, there's only so much space on a page and DF is naturally set up where you're 'good' and they're 'bad', so a lack of evil essentially means it's good.

But that's if you need to chain yourself down, Sense <foo> looks perfectly fine. Just that everything besides evil is very niche so I wouldn't gate it behind anything more than the baseline reqs, and maaaaaybe a trivial skill check to switch up modes IF time is a factor.

e: Ah, and if you're using DF Spells for enemy tools then Sense Good exists and is exactly what you're stating, the mirror image of Sense Evil. Not terribly useful for players to read about but I suppose it assumes that as a GM you think about those kinds of things.

[martinl]

Sense GEBS is probably one step further down the chain, with two of Sense G/E/B/S as pre-reqs.

[Polkageist]

Sorry, remind what 'B' and 'S' are?

[DemiBenson]

Originally Posted by Polkageist

Sorry, remind what 'B' and 'S' are?

Bunny (Nature) and Squid (Elder Things)

[Polkageist]

Gotcha, thanks.
I'm split on the notion of going further down the spell chain to be either more general (one spell does it all, sense ANYTHING) or to specialize in detecting more difficult and obscure things.

I think we're happily wandering into theoretical territory.
If we can assume that Sense Evil automatically comes with a Sense Good analogue, then I think that Sense Natural/Alien would be a good step up.

Or, Sense Natural/Alien may be described alternately as something like Sense Origin? We've got sense foes->sense emotion which is a nice step up from simply "hostile y/n" to more detailed emotion info.
Sense life gives you info about whether or not something living is present, so Sense Origin would give you details about that life-form's origin be it natural, elemental, dimensional, outsider, etc.
Sense Evil/Good I think still occupies an apex of a chain in that it gives you look at the absolute morality (inasmuch as that sort of thing exists, it's DF and demons exist so yeah) without giving info of who or what is manifesting that. Sense origin would give you info about where that Evil/Good thing is from.

[benz72]

FWIW I think Sense Affinity is the most logical. If it were a Seek X spell I'd vote the other way. Aura is a single spell and tells you about something local to you. If the 'magical RFID' tag allows you to locate GEBS stuff at a distance I'd want it to be differentiated. If it just allows you to read what's in front of you I think a single spell should work. If you think this is too powerful, maybe sensing Squidly things induces a fright check, or sensing Evil things triggers any remotely appropriate personality flaws (Disads).

[cvannrederode]

Originally Posted by WhiteLily

I'm trying to understand the logic behind DFRPG not having a symmetrical spell, Sense Good, as it does have Sense Evil.

I'm considering replacing this spell in my game with "Sense Alignment" which would work as Sense Foes plus reveal any strongly aligned properties in the target area.

Companion 2, page 59. In the Evil Cleric template.

[InexplicableVic]

Originally Posted by Rasputin

• There's limited space in the books
• Few PCs are going to take it
• There's exactly one Truly Good monster in DFRPG. That's the Angel, which doesn't exactly disguise itself.

Yeah, this. Plus I don't even thing Sense Good is all that useful for bad guys trying to sense delvers...not all will even be good, and even those that are (Clerics, Holy Warrior), I don't think those radiate as "Truly Good." So, for example, Sense Evil only works on beings and items "imbued with true Evil." Draugr--seems like they do not show up. Demons of Old, Demons from Between the Stars...yes.

Sense Good might reveal, I guess, a holy weapon, or an angel, or an altar to a good-aligned god.

I guess Sense Foes is probably best when determining if something you see or hear has hostile intent. For truly Evil folks, that would mean delvers seeking to rid the world of truly Evil folks.